Published: Thursday, December 27, 2012 at 10:14 AM.

Waters said she hopes the dialogue about mental illness that has been raised will help strengthen the mental health system.

She said NAMI works to provide educational programs and information about the illnesses and help combat the misconceptions.

She said they want individuals and families dealing with mental illness to know they are not alone.

NAMI Coastal Division serves Carteret and Onslow counties and is registering people now for a free 12-week course for family members who have a loved one with a mental illness. The classes begin Jan. 10 and will be held at First Baptist Church in Jacksonville.

For more information or to register for the classes, call Sally Waters at 252-354-4722.

For individuals who are seeking help with a mental illness, CoastalCare has a 24-hour, toll-free phone line for access to care and crisis services. The number is 1-866-875-1757.

CoastalCare is a local government public agency that provides management and oversight of mental health, intellectual/developmental disabilities, and substance use services through a provider network for the residents of Brunswick, Carteret, New Hanover, Onslow, and Pender counties.

As a parent, the news of last week’s mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school turned Jay Kortemeyer’s thoughts quickly to his daughter.

She too is a teacher of young children. And while not in Connecticut, he needed to know she was OK.

“My daughter is a kindergarten teacher, and I just had to call and make sure she was safe,” he said.

As a professional in the mental health field, the tragedy raises an issue he deals with daily: treatment for individuals with mental illness.

In the days since the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, discussions have surfaced over the gunman’s reported history of mental illness

Kortemeyer, the chief executive officer of Brynn Marr Hospital in Jacksonville, doesn’t speculate about the gunman or his behavior.

He emphasizes the importance of recognizing mental illness as a treatable disease.

There are resources in the community and mental illness can be controlled and treated through medication and other help, he said.

“I think (mental illness) needs to be focused on like every other disease, like cancer or heart disease. It should be viewed as a medical illness that can be treated,” Kortemeyer said.

Sally Waters of Emerald Isle, president of the National Alliance on Mental Illness Coastal Division, said there is still a stigma that comes with mental illness; and she doesn’t want to see the tragedy in Connecticut reinforce fears and misconceptions about individuals with mental illness.

Having a mental illness does not necessarily make a person violent. In fact, NAMI has said that the overall contribution of mental illness to violence in society is very small.

“Sadly there are many misconceptions about mental illness,” Waters said. “The fact is that most people with mental illness are not violent. The U.S. Surgeon General has said the likelihood is ‘exceptionally small.’ When an act of violence like the tragedy in Connecticut occurs, something has gone terribly wrong. Our mental health system has suffered from budget cuts and struggles to provide adequate care for those who need it. We need to strengthen the system so that people can get the right help at the right time.

“Stigma can keep many from seeking medical treatment.”

No one really knows why the gunman, who killed himself after the massacre, did what he did.

Waters said she hopes the dialogue about mental illness that has been raised will help strengthen the mental health system.

She said NAMI works to provide educational programs and information about the illnesses and help combat the misconceptions.

She said they want individuals and families dealing with mental illness to know they are not alone.

NAMI Coastal Division serves Carteret and Onslow counties and is registering people now for a free 12-week course for family members who have a loved one with a mental illness. The classes begin Jan. 10 and will be held at First Baptist Church in Jacksonville.

For more information or to register for the classes, call Sally Waters at 252-354-4722.

For individuals who are seeking help with a mental illness, CoastalCare has a 24-hour, toll-free phone line for access to care and crisis services. The number is 1-866-875-1757.

CoastalCare is a local government public agency that provides management and oversight of mental health, intellectual/developmental disabilities, and substance use services through a provider network for the residents of Brunswick, Carteret, New Hanover, Onslow, and Pender counties.